It's Been A Lifetime

Frank waited patiently at the airport, a thick, black jacket wrapped around him. Even though it was way too early in the morning for anyone sane to be awake, he found he was too excited to be sleepy. He'd been staring at the arrivals board for a good twenty minutes; the plane he'd been waiting for had landed quite a while ago.

As if on cue, the reason he was standing at the airport appeared, dragging with him a bright red suitcase. Frank's first instinct was to run over and pounce on the man, but instead he stood completely still and waited for Gerard to reach him.

Gerard stopped in front of Frank, let go of his suitcase and opened his arms, patiently waiting for the smaller boy to hug him. Frank smiled, and did so. For a while they just stood in embrace, neither of them with any intention of letting go.

"How was your trip?" Frank asked softly.

"It was interesting," Gerard responded, resting his chin on top of Frank's head, "just interesting. It was way too hot."

Frank chuckled, "That's not really what I meant."

"I know, but nothing really happened."

"How can it be interesting if nothing happened?"

Gerard smiled, and pulled out of the hug just enough so he could duck his head and press a light kiss to Frank's lips. A sense of calm washed over the pair, and although they'd never admit it, they'd both been waiting for that contact since the moment Gerard left.

When they finally broke apart, Frank immediately pulled Gerard closer, not ready to break the hug yet. Gerard grinned, and kissed the top of Frank's head, "People are staring."

"I don't care, let them," Frank muttered, "I really missed you."

"I missed you too," Gerard told him, and once again they both fell silent. The body heat generated from the hug was enough to shield Frank from the morning cold, and he could feel Gerard's heartbeat racing. It made Frank smile to know that even after all this time he could still kickstart Gerard's heart into overdrive. Not that the older man didn't have the same effect on him, but it was nice to know the feeling was mutual.

Gerard finally broke the silence, "What did you do while I was away?"

"Oh, nothing much," Frank teased.

Gerard rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same, "Fine, be like that."

"I will!" Frank announced defiantly. Gerard poked him just under his ribs, making Frank squirm, "Don't!"

Gerard smirked, and poked him again, and again, and again until Frank giggled and pulled out of the hug.

"You're mean," he pouted.

Gerard quickly pecked Frank's lips and stated, "You're cute."

Frank immediately forgot about sulking and pulled Gerard into a deep and passionate kiss. They both ended it breathless and slightly flushed, but smiling.

"Let's go home," Frank whispered. Gerard didn't respond. He just laced his fingers with Frank's and let his boyfriend lead him away from the terminal.

~*~

Frank never considered himself much of a poet, but on nights like this, when he and Gerard came together in the most significant of acts, he couldn't help but dream of metaphors and imagery. The way Gerard's body rocked against his, the changing pace, the building excitement and the final ecstasy, when Gerard's name spilled from his lips, and simultaneously Gerard moaned 'Frank' in his ear. Nothing about the moment seemed wrong to Frank, and nothing; not the occasional pain, the messiness, the sweat; could take away from its beauty.

Frank had yet to find a name for it. 'Sex' sounded too clinical. 'Fucking' sounded too emotionless. 'Making love' sounded like some sort of recipe. To Frank, it wasn't really any of those things. It was just perfection.

Gerard fell against him, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath, and Frank quickly enveloped him in a hug. Gerard shifted his weight to avoid crushing Frank, but Frank simply kissed Gerard's shoulder. Gerard's hand travelled down Frank's arm until he reached his hand, then entwined their fingers. At that moment, there were so many things that Frank wanted to say, but his mind was racing and his thoughts became jumbled, and he was afraid that by speaking he'd ruin the moment. But then Gerard kissed his collar bone and whispered, "You're so beautiful."

"How do you do that?" Frank wondered aloud.

"Do what?"

"How do you know exactly what to say all the time?"

Gerard chuckled softly, and shrugged, "I don't."

"Liar."

Gerard chuckled again, and lightly kissed Frank's forehead, "Maybe you just think I always know what to say because I say all the things you want to say before you do."

Frank took a moment to really understand what Gerard was saying, then smiled, "Maybe."

Gerard lifted his head, rubbing his nose against Frank's. Frank giggled, and kissed Gerard, "Would it be to possessive of me to demand that you never go away without me ever again?"

"Just a little," Gerard joked, "But I'm not complaining."

Frank nodded, satisfied with the answer, then snuggled into Gerard's arms. He was just about ready to drift off to sleep when Gerard whispered, "We should go to the moon."

"What?" Frank laughed, because Gerard wasn't usually someone who made absurd statements. Gerard nodded, then continued, "Wouldn't it be nice? We could build a house for just the two of us, and we could watch the Earth and laugh because they'll never know what zero gravity feels like, not like we do."

Frank was sure there was some kind of second meaning behind Gerard's words, but the idea of a world just for the two of them was appealing enough for Frank to agree with anything.

"Then again, who needs zero gravity when you're around?" Gerard added finally. Frank laughed, and kissed Gerard's shoulder again, "You're gorgeous."

At his words, Gerard seemed to be immediately brought out of his own thoughts. He clutched at Frank, as if afraid that he'd disappear, and sighed in complete satisfaction. Frank closed his eyes, feeling exactly the same way.

~*~

The next morning played out like most of their mornings did. Frank awoke to find Gerard sitting up in bed, his laptop resting on his knees as he typed furiously. He yawned and sat up, resting his head on Gerard's shoulder, but not even that was enough to break Gerard's concentration.

"What're you doing?" Frank asked, trying to subtly demand attention.
"Blogging," Gerard replied blankly.

"About?"

"Nothing in particular. Just felt like it."

Frank watched the screen as Gerard typed. It was true, Gerard was writing about things that would have little meaning to anyone but himself; but since this was important to Gerard, it made it infinitely significant to Frank. It was times like this, watching Gerard so absorbed with his writing, that renewed Frank's love of his boyfriends creative side.

When Gerard wrote, he found himself in a trance. His fingers had to try to keep up with his thoughts, as they seemed to fill his mind faster than he could comprehend. However, as Frank's lips found his cheek, the spell was broken. He quickly turned his head to capture those lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. It was one of those moments that screamed 'I love you' louder than either of them could vocally.

"You say it first," Frank whispered. It was a game that both of them played, sometimes for days on end, but Gerard wasn't in the mood for teasing and trickery. He gently pressed a kiss to Frank's thin, pale neck and murmured, "I love you."

"I win," Frank stated, without any real conviction to his words. Gerard quickly relocated his laptop to the table beside the bed, before returning all his attention to Frank. He pushed his boyfriend against the mattress; Frank offering him no resistance; and kissed both of his cheeks, "I think I win."

"Liar, that's not how the game works," Frank exclaimed. Gerard kissed Frank's neck again, "Now you say it."

"Make me," Frank challenged.

Another kiss, "Say it."

"Make me," Frank repeated.

Another kiss, this time on Frank's collar bone, "Say it."

Gerard lifted his head to look at Frank's face. The playful sparkle in Frank's eyes faded into adoration, and he sighed contently, "I love you, you know that."

Gerard nipped at Frank's ear lobe and purred, "I told you I win."

Frank decided not to reply. He was enjoying the attention Gerard was showing him far to much to have any real objections.

~*~

"Does it bother you?" Frank asked out of the blue. Gerard frowned at the confusing question and demanded, "Does what bother me?"

"Does it bother you that we're not going anywhere?" Frank elaborated, "Do you think it's bad that nothing seems to happen in our relationship?"

"No," Gerard said slowly, "Does it bother you?"

Despite his calm exterior, Gerard was panicking. Up until that moment he'd been completely at peace with their relationship. It was flawless, as far as he was concerned. The idea that Frank wasn't happy scared him, because he didn't want things to change, but he didn't want Frank to leave him.

But then Frank sat on his lap, his expression completely serious, and announced, "Not at all. I think we're perfect the way we are, don't you?"

Gerard let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time he wasn't at all surprised by Frank's words.

"Of course," Gerard stated, "I think we're perfect."

Frank smiled warmly, obviously pleased with Gerard's answer, and kissed him. They were silent until Frank continued, "But we won't be this way forever, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Frank stopped, obviously reluctant to say what he was thinking. Gerard nuzzled his face into Frank's neck and held him protectively.

"It's okay," he cooed, "just tell me what's on your mind."

Frank coughed uncomfortably, "Well, I mean… one day this won't be enough any more. We might want… more… from each other. Say… if we wanted to get married, or adopt kids. Maybe."

Gerard removed his face from Frank's neck, "You're blushing."

Frank just waited for Gerard to say something else. He could've drawn out the moment, teased Frank a little, but Gerard placed both his hands on Frank's cheeks and said, "One day I want you to be my husband. I want to remember the look on your face when you say 'I do'. I want to move into a huge house and adopt a bunch of kids. I want to get a kitten and a puppy for the children to play with. I want to write them lullabies and sing them to sleep. I want you to make fun of me because I cry on their first day of school. But most of all, I want to lay next to you and tell you you're beautiful every night for the rest of our lives."

As Gerard spoke, Frank's lips stretched into an uncontrollable grin. His grip on Gerard's shoulders tightened, until he'd pulled him into the tightest hug he could manage.

"But for now," Gerard continued, "I don't want a thing to change."

"Neither," Frank mumbled, "Not yet. Not for a while."

Gerard kissed the shell of Frank's ear, then his neck, then his cheek, then his lips. Sharing the same breath, they both whispered, "I love you."

When he realised they'd spoken together, Frank giggled, "Wow, we're pathetic."

"No," Gerard corrected, "we're perfect."

Frank beamed, and kissed Gerard to show he agreed. All thoughts of the future vanished from his mind, and he simply enjoyed the taste of Gerard's lips, and the way his heart still fluttered from excitement every time they kissed.